NIH-FUNDED FC2 STUDY
(2008-2011)
Project Overview
While working at the Institute for Community Research (ICR), I worked as a supporting Researcher on the NIH-funded study "Enhancing HIV Prevention through Multi-level Community Intervention to Promote Women-Initiated Prevention Options." The short summary below is directly from the Institute for Community Research website.
"This 4-year study sought to enhance HIV prevention by increasing community-wide availability, accessibility, and support for use of the female condom (FC2) to reduce transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections as well as pregnancy. The female condom, a vaginal pouch worn during sex, is currently the most effective woman-initiated barrier method to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections." (ICR website)
"The study used a community-based approach to develop and implement a multi-level intervention by creating, mobilizing and building the capacity of a group of community members, service providers, and activists. This group, the Community Action and Advocacy Board called SWEET Inner Power, collectively developed and piloted interventions targeting the whole community (Facebook, outreach, FAQ sheets), health and service organizations’ staff (workshop on how to promote FC with patients/clients) and at-risk individuals to expand access and use of the FC2." (ICR website)
My Role in the Project
My role on this project included the following:
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Administering field surveys where female condoms or male condoms were made available for free or sold directly to consumers. This data was collected in 5 cycles to evaluate ongoing accessibility and availability of contraceptives in the following locations:
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Community health clinics
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Grocery stores and pharmacies
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Sex shops
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Homeless shelters
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Mobile syringe exchange vans
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HIV programs
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Drug treatment clinics
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Community service organizations
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Conducting in-person structured interviews in both Spanish and English with community members identified at risk of HIV/STIs.
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Attending Community Action and Advocacy Board meetings and acting as a notetaker, observing interactions between community members.
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Coding qualitative interviews using Atlas.ti to uncover themes.
This summary was informed by and adapted from ICR's website. You can read more about the project at their website here. You can also read the final report from the 4-year long study here.
Inspiration for Undergraduate Honors Thesis
This work at ICR inspired my 2010 Senior Thesis for the University of Connecticut Honors Program, titled "Female Condom Knowledge, Attributes and Behavior: Barriers to Use and Potential for Acceptance Among Sexually Active Undergraduate Students."
This study involved a campus-wide survey which examined University of Connecticut (Uconn) main campus (Storrs) undergraduate students’ knowledge, perceptions of and attitudes towards the female condom as implications for the potential acceptability of the female condom among undergraduate populations of other mid-sized, public universities in the United States.
The results of the study indicated that many UConn students have some knowledge of the female condom but do not use it. The most cited barriers to acceptability were its lack of accessibility, the “yuck factor,” use of the male condom already, and the need for more demonstrations on how to use the female condom. These barriers are all surmountable.
The results also suggested the need for promotion of the female condom among this population as an alternative, not a replacement, to the male condom. This study provided hope for understanding how to best market the female condom among sexually active college undergraduate populations of similar demographical makeup as the University of Connecticut.
You can read the full thesis here on the UConn Digital Commons.